Try free preview

Instagram data · Help guide

How to Download Your Instagram Followers and Following List

Instagram lets you request a copy of your account data, including your followers and following information. Once you have the export, you can inspect the files yourself or use Social Janitor to turn them into clear relationship lists.

Last updatedSeptember 29, 2026

01

The short answer

To download your Instagram followers and following list, request your account data from Instagram and include the Followers and following information in the export. For Social Janitor, the useful format is JSON.

What you need

An Instagram export containing your followers and following data in JSON format.

The export comes from Instagram itself. Social Janitor does not request your Instagram password or download the data on your behalf.

02

Request your Instagram data

Instagram provides a data download tool for requesting a copy of information connected to your account. The exact menu labels can change over time, but the request is made from Instagram or Meta's account settings rather than from Social Janitor.

  1. Open Instagram or your Meta account settings.
  2. Find the option for downloading or exporting your information.
  3. Select the Instagram profile you want to analyze.
  4. Choose the account information you want included in the export.
  5. Submit the request and wait for Instagram to make the download available.

Make sure you request data for the same profile you later plan to analyze. Exports from different profiles should not be mixed.

03

Choose the followers and following data

If Instagram lets you choose individual data categories, include the category that contains your follower and following information. That is the part Social Janitor uses to build relationship lists.

You can select the downloaded Instagram ZIP directly in Social Janitor. The app scans the archive locally and reads the supported relationship JSON files it needs for the analysis.

Keep the scope small

For follower analysis, focus on followers and following data rather than exporting unrelated account content unless you need it for another reason.

04

Use JSON format for analysis

Instagram exports can be offered in different formats. Social Janitor is designed around the structured JSON files that contain the follower and following records.

JSON may look technical if you open it directly in a text editor, but that is exactly why a parser is useful: the file stores the records in a structured format that software can compare reliably.

If you want to understand what is inside those files, see our guide on reading Instagram follower JSON once it is published in the Help Center.

05

Download the Instagram ZIP

When Instagram finishes preparing your export, download the ZIP to your own device and keep it somewhere you can find it, such as your Downloads folder.

No manual unzip required

For Social Janitor, keep the ZIP intact. You can select the archive directly and let the importer find the supported follower and following JSON files inside it.

Social Janitor processes the supported relationship files locally in your browser. Unrelated archive content is not needed for follower relationship analysis.

06

Import the ZIP into Social Janitor

Open the import area and select the Instagram ZIP you downloaded. Social Janitor scans the archive, finds the supported relationship files and shows the detected follower and following totals before you create a preview or save a snapshot.

If you already extracted the archive, the existing JSON-file import remains available as a fallback. Normally, selecting the ZIP directly is the simpler option.

The analysis separates accounts into:

  • Following only: accounts you follow that do not follow you back.
  • Followers only: accounts that follow you but that you do not follow back.
  • Mutual: accounts where you follow each other.
Already have your export?

Open the free preview and see what your followers and following files contain before deciding whether you need the full Pro lists.

07

Common problems with Instagram exports

If the import does not look right, check the basics before assuming the follower data itself is wrong.

  • Make sure the export belongs to the Instagram profile you intended to analyze.
  • Confirm that followers and following were included in the export.
  • Check that you downloaded the JSON version rather than another format.
  • Use a fresh export if the file is older than the account state you want to inspect.
  • Keep each ZIP tied to one Instagram profile and do not mix JSON files from different profiles.
  • If Social Janitor cannot find supported relationship files inside the ZIP, confirm that Followers and Following were included in the export and request a fresh JSON export if needed.

Once the files are ready, you can continue with how to see who doesn’t follow you backor learn how follower changes are identified between snapshots.